Valuation experts receive a lot of advice on how to guard against an attack from the opposing side, but sometimes an attack can come from the expert’s own client. A recent case shows how an appraiser who sued a client over unpaid fees was put on the defensive. Costly divorce: The client hired an accounting  Continue Reading »

Financial experts are often needed in commercial litigation cases. They could be used to value a business, figure out economic damages, or to look into fraud allegations. In these cases, the quality of the numeric data that is available to the expert is critical, affecting both the time that the financial expert must put into  Continue Reading »

Sometimes courts face a hard choice, having to decide between equally compelling and competent valuations. Not so in a recent fair value proceeding in which the skills gap between the testifying experts made it easy for the court to pick the winner. Biz divorce: The petitioner and the respondent were the two owners of a  Continue Reading »

After a recent U.S. Tax Court decision, current deductions aren’t allowed for most expenses incurred during the start-up phase of a new business. When compared with the federal treatment of start-up expenses, it can be confusing for small business owners. Here’s what the rules for deducting start-up costs actually are: Deduct Section 162 Expenses Now  Continue Reading »

The U.S. Tax Court has held that payments received by a police detective on his retirement, for unused sick and vacation time, were includible in income. Based on that conclusion, the court rejected the taxpayer’s argument that a portion of the vacation time and sick leave should be excludible. That portion of the payments, said  Continue Reading »

Cullifer v. Commissioner, 2014 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 204 (Oct. 7, 2014) In a multilayered tax shelter case, the IRS used the theory of transferee liability to pursue a $9 million claim against the petitioner in connection with the sale of company assets and company stock. Since the applicable transfer liability statute merely provided a  Continue Reading »

Much of the valuation community’s attention in the past few months has focused on New York fair value proceedings. Now the Utah Supreme Court adds more fodder to the discussion with a decision that rejects the lower court’s reliance on precedent that prohibits deductions for lack of marketability and tax liabilities. ‘Everything for sale’ strategy  Continue Reading »

Cavallaro v. Commissioner, 2014 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 189 (Sept. 17, 2014) So much for professional help! Hardworking taxpayers who built a successful business relied on estate planning professionals to effect a transfer of wealth that would minimize their tax liability. The resulting merger of two family businesses led to an IRS deficiency notice alleging  Continue Reading »

St. Alphonsus Diversified Care, Inc. v. MRI Associates, LLP, 2014 Ida. LEXIS 200 (Aug. 4, 2014) A recent lost profits case that revolved around a hospital’s breach of a partnership agreement’s noncompete clause raises issues about the right measure of damages and illustrates how an expert’s testimony succeeds in fending off various forms of attack  Continue Reading »

Hipple v. SCIX, LLC, 2014 U.S. LEXIS 113198 (Aug. 13, 2014) Calculation reports periodically become a point of contention in litigation in trial and appeals courts. Courts have responded in different ways to questions about their usefulness and reliability. A recent case explores the issue of whether expert testimony based on a calculation of value  Continue Reading »